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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/28394583">home (on hiatus)</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/secretcheesesticks/pseuds/secretcheesesticks'>secretcheesesticks</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Dream SMP - Fandom, Minecraft (Video Game)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>2020 L'Manberg Election on Dream Team SMP (Video Blogging RPF), Angst, Dream Team SMP Spoilers, DreamSMP - Freeform, M/M, Manberg-Pogtopia War on Dream Team SMP (Video Blogging RPF), Manberg-Pogtopia War on Dream Team SMP Spoilers (Video Blogging RPF), Post-Manberg Festival on Dream Team SMP (Video Blogging RPF), Pre-Manberg Festival on Dream Team SMP (Video Blogging RPF), Pre-Manberg-Pogtopia War on Dream Team SMP (Video Blogging RPF), Slow Burn</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-12-28</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-01-15</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-10 15:22:57</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>2</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>3,551</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/28394583</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/secretcheesesticks/pseuds/secretcheesesticks</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>As Dream wanders through his own server, he has to determine what really means the most to him. Where, really, is home?<br/>(Set in the events on the DreamSMP from October 2020 onwards)</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Clay | Dream/GeorgeNotFound (Video Blogging RPF)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>6</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. cold october nights</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>This is a story set on the DreamSMP. The characters are based off of the characters the streamers portray, not the streamers themselves. This will be quite obvious considering the, y’know, deaths. Respect cc boundaries please, this is just for fun and to practice writing.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The election had begun to take its toll on everyone. Of course, there was Tommy and Wilbur, exiled by the newly elected Schlatt-Quackity administration. Tubbo was sent to hunt them down, and George… well, he was welcomed into Schlatt’s cabinet, so he was either busy or sleeping most of the time. Everyone seemed to be planning, prepping, for something new on the horizon. Everyone, that is, except Dream.</p><p>Being essentially a god has its downsides. For those he was allies with, Dream would simply open inventory and provide them with supplies. Intel was less useful, as nobody truly trusted him. He never knew if he was getting the full story unless he was there to witness an event.</p><p>He hadn’t even built a house yet. He owned all the land, and he had no house. It was embarrassing, and he chose not to tell anyone. What’s the point of having a house if there’s nobody to share it with, or even visit? Nobody wanted to visit him, they were all afraid. So he wandered.</p><p><br/>Sitting on the stairs next to the sugar cane farm, Dream undid the strap of his netherite helmet and let his hair free. It blew gently behind him - the server was windy, as it often was. The cool air was welcoming to his warm face and was a much-needed break after hours of being trapped in the helmet. He glanced down at his chestplate, white with the shimmering purple aura of netherite surrounding it, and was tempted to take it off too, or at least loosen it.</p><p>He reached around the back to try to grab for the buckle, but he couldn’t quite reach it. How do I normally do this? he thought to himself, before realizing he couldn’t remember the last time he took off his armor. He always had to be on guard for whatever was going on at the moment, prepared for any potential assassination attempt. The smiley-engraved chest plate was just bulky enough that the rough strap was just out of his reach.</p><p>“Need help?” a familiar voice called from further up the stairs.</p><p>Dream, only half-processing who it was, quickly threw his helmet back on in self-defense and grabbed his crossbow from his back. By the time he had aimed, Sapnap’s arms were in the air and he had attempted to step back up a stair. That attempt failed, as the heel of his boot caught on the uneven oak plank, sending him tumbling. Dream scrambled to his feet.</p><p>“I’m sorry! I didn’t even realize it was you-” he offered a hand to Sapnap, who took it as they hauled him up to his feet.</p><p>“It’s fine dude, don’t worry. Everyone’s on edge right now, I totally get it.”</p><p>Sapnap brushed remaining visible golden-brown splinters off the back and sides of his black cargo pants. He had visible bags under his eyes, but he still sported his typical grin. He and Dream met eyes for a moment though, and Dream swore something was off. Sapnap wordlessly motioned to the chestplate, and Dream turned around to let him undo the straps. Dream meanwhile took off his askew helmet, trying his best to shake off his post-adrenaline jitters. Once the armor was unbuckled, he slipped it over his head and took in a deep breath. He didn’t realize how heavy it was until it was gone.</p><p>“Better?” asked Sapnap.</p><p>“Much,” replied Dream.</p><p>He set down the set of armor on the stairs next to him as he sat down again. He had been walking all day, trying to make sure that no major acts of terrorism were being committed, and his legs were aching. Sapnap flopped down next to him, sighing as if an elephant had just stepped off of his chest.</p><p>“You okay?” asked Dream.</p><p>“Well…” Sapnap looked away and messed with his headband, tying and untying it in an attempt to avoid the question.</p><p>“Come on, what’s up?” Dream turned to Sapnap, trying to show he was giving his full attention.</p><p>Sapnap took off his headband, letting his hair fall and frame his face. He stared at the headband as if it had personally stabbed him in the chest, taking out as much of his anger as he could into that inanimate object before turning to meet Dream’s gaze.</p><p>“I just got back from meeting with Eret and Nikki. We talked about the election, and what happened with Wilbur and Tommy. Dream, you know what we have to do, right?”</p><p>Dream broke their eye contact and stared at his boots.</p><p>“Sapnap, what are you implying?”</p><p>Sapnap reached out a hand to rest on Dream’s shoulder. It was supposed to be reassuring and friendly, but Dream wanted to shrink away from it. Everything was just too much right now.</p><p>“Pogtopia has to be taken out.”</p><p>“I don’t think-” protested Dream.</p><p>“No, no, listen. They’re too much of a liability. They’re angry, rebellious, and smart. Everything we’ve built - everything you’ve built? They’ll tear it down, you know they will.”</p><p>Sapnap removed his hand and Dream unconsciously rubbed his shoulder where his friend’s hand had been. Dream knew he was right, they were too big of a risk. But secretly, Dream liked that risk. Pogtopia had the guts to keep going on their own. They never gave up, never bowed to the dictatorship of Schlatt. He admired that, especially in Tommy. But he would never tell him - or anyone - that. He had kept up the facade of picking a side when he gave Schlatt his bow at the election, but he really just wanted to see how everything went.</p><p>“Hey, you in there?” Sapnap was snapping in front of his face. Dream shook himself out of his head, realizing he must have been spacing out for a little bit.</p><p>“Sorry. I - you’re right. I’m just… tired. There’s a lot to think about.” Dream rubbed at his eyes with his palms.</p><p>“This is a lot to drop on you at once, I’m sorry. Do you need a place to stay tonight?”</p><p>Sapnap asked that often. He knew that Dream only had a small cave of a base to store his most important items. It didn’t even have a bed, and he had to mostly abandon it after Tommy and Tubbo found it a while back. Usually, Dream declined his offer, insisting that he was fine on his own and then instantly regretting it as soon as his friend left. But tonight he was exhausted, and sleeping in a bed sounded much nicer than sleeping under a tree or in the cave.</p><p>“That… would be nice,” he finally answered.</p><p>Looking slightly taken aback - he wasn’t used to a yes - Sapnap raised his eyebrows and then grinned. He jumped to his feet and held out an arm for Dream to grab, and the two of them made their way to Sapnap’s house.</p><p>It wasn’t incredibly much, nothing over-the-top or flashy. But it was one of the original buildings from the early days when it was just the three of them. It was a wide oak building with walls covered in glass, giving it a very open feeling. A small cobblestone pier led from the main path to the oak door, which creaked familiarly when opened.</p><p>Dream breathed in the nostalgic wood smell as he made his way through the door, sighing of relief as he was able to finally put his armor down.<br/>Sapnap took off his shoes and quickly started a fire. The glass walls were pretty, but not great at keeping the cold out. As the end of fall creeped up on them, the nights were certainly getting cooler. It was wonderful to be inside on such a night, especially sharing the house with a friend.</p><p>“I’m gonna make some food, but you can crash if you want.” Sapnap waved Dream over to a spare bed across the room.<br/>Not even bothering to take off his jacket or shoes, Dream strode across the room and flopped into the bed. Instantly, his brain started to shut down, grateful for the long-awaited rest that he so rarely got the chance to take. The world around him began to fade, blurring into mostly darkness and blobs of colour surrounding his friend and his so far failed attempts at starting a fire.</p><p>“Hey, Sapnap?” mumbled Dream.</p><p>“Yeah?” responded Sapnap, furiously striking the flint and steel at the fireplace.</p><p>“Thank you.”</p><p>“Of course, dude. I know how crazy everything’s been lately, and I’ve seen you wandering around a lot. I figured you might need a rest and-”</p><p>The fire finally roared to life and Sapnap turned around, cutting himself off mid-sentence as he fully recognized the sound of Dream snoring away, dead to the world in the comfortable bed. Sapnap smiled and set down the fire starter. He walked over to Dream and pulled off his boots, then pulled the blanket over his conked-out friend. Dream didn’t budge the whole time. After a quick paranoid check to make sure his buddy didn’t die on him, Sapnap returned to the fire to finish cooking some dinner. Now that the house was relatively quiet, he couldn’t stop thinking about what was going to happen with Pogtopia.</p><p>What were they planning? Should he preemptively act, just in case they were already laying the TNT under the city? Or should he wait until they strike first?</p><p>He tried to shake off all the thoughts that swarmed his head. There wasn’t much he could do on no sleep. After he finished eating, he set out some extra on the table for when Dream woke up. Finally, he headed over to his own bed and wrapped himself up in the many blankets that covered it.</p><p>“Goodnight, Dream,” he quietly called out.</p><p>As the fire dimmed and the night went on, the boys slept soundly, unaware of what was happening out in the caves of the forest.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. lost jacket</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>hard to write for situations i wasn’t there to watch for (i started watching on the day before the festival)<br/>i have a twitter.  https://twitter.com/scheesesticks and a spotify playlist for this fic. https://open.spotify.com/playlist/3MjEAxM4cDRnctNwWOScXx</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Dream woke up to a warm house, the sun shining through the many windows. A new fire crackled in the fireplace, but the building was quiet besides that. Dream swung himself up into a seated position in bed, swinging his legs out of the tangled blankets and over the side. He stared at his sock-clad feet for a moment. He didn’t remember taking off his boots, but they were placed just under the bed.</p><p>He forced himself to stand up, not wanting to leave the soft comfort that the bed gave him. Immediately, he stumbled, lightheaded and shaky. He fell to his knees, old scars meeting hardwood floor. His vision swam, he couldn’t think straight - why did he feel so nauseous and weak? He tried to push himself up again, to no avail - his muscles screamed out in exhaustion.</p><p>“Come on, I just slept, what else do you want from me?” he scolded himself angrily.</p><p>He sat back on his ankles and ran a hand through his hair, taking a deep breath and trying to center himself and shake the spots from his eyes. The door creaking open surprised him.</p><p>“Dream?”</p><p>Dream quickly turned to look for the source of the familiar voice. In the doorway stood the goggle-clad man, George. He was wearing his work suit, sort of: he had taken off his suit jacket and held it over his shoulder, revealing his favorite bright blue tee shirt. A simple black bag hung over his other shoulder.</p><p>“George!” Dream smiled, pushing himself to his feet and attempting to give his friend a hug. He mostly failed - the hug was more of a fall into George’s arms. Dream was still far too weak to move that quickly.</p><p>“Woah- are you okay?” George asked, eyes widening in worry and surprise while he pulled Dream to his feet.</p><p>Dream held his hand out, balancing himself with the pressure he put on George’s shoulder. He wavered there for a moment, taking in another slow breath before replying.</p><p>“I.. think so? I don’t know. Sapnap made me stay here for the night, but I still feel just… completely drained.”</p><p>George led him back over to the bed to sit down.</p><p>“Well, when was the last time you ate or drank something?”</p><p>Dream opened his mouth to answer, then closed it when he realized he didn’t have an answer. George gave him a look he knew all too well, the look he gave when he knew Dream hadn’t been taking care of himself. Leaving Dream perched on the edge of the bed, George got up, tossed his jacket at Dream’s face, and walked over to the table to grab the food that Sapnap had left out for Dream. Sapnap had also left a note to explain his disappearance.</p><p>“Uhmm… ‘left to go do important things’... unnecessary winking face… ‘please don’t die or else there’s gonna be another war and i don’t wanna be responsible for that’... ‘left some food for u, goodnight sleeping beauty’ and then a bunch of hearts.”</p><p>George tossed the note back on the table, then brought the food over to Dream. He also pulled a water bottle out of his bag and shoved it forcefully at Dream.</p><p>“You heard him. No dying.” George said with a grin, though his eyes still were filled with concern.</p><p>“I’ll do my best,” Dream replied, taking the water bottle.</p><p>He dug into the food he was brought, unaware of just how hungry and thirsty he was until now. It was beyond hungry, beyond thirsty - his body had simply given up on receiving nutrients and had begun to wilt. He felt energy restore to him almost immediately as he ate and drank, and did so quickly that he was surprised when he ran out. George had lain back on the pillows, waiting semi-patiently for Dream. He had a little magma slime that he had brought back from the Nether, and he amused himself by watching it jump across his gloved hands.</p><p>“Better not let that get out in here-” Dream said, downing the last of the water. “Sapnap would be pissed if anything got burnt. This is one of the spots that even he doesn’t commit arson on.”</p><p>“It’s fine, I know what I’m doing.” George put the magma cube back in its glass box in his bag. “As for you-” he said, sitting up and pointing a finger at Dream. “What were you thinking? How could you let yourself go that long? Had you even eaten since the day before the election?”</p><p>Dream blinked in surprise, realizing that George was right: there had been a small dinner party before the election. That was the last time he had eaten, purely because it was convenient to his current actions.</p><p>“You need to stop getting so distracted. I know you focus so much on your goals that you can’t even stop to take care of yourself, but if you keep doing that, you’re never going to be able to reach your goals.” Dream brushed it off, he had heard the speech many times before.</p><p>“Speaking of goals, how’s the cabinet position? Got anything interesting planned?”</p><p>George rolled his eyes. He knew Dream was deflecting, but there wasn’t much he could do about it.</p><p>“I’m not sure, actually. I was supposed to go to a meeting, but I saw you were in here and wanted to say hello. Um, actually-” he rustled around in his bag and pulled out his watch - “I have to go.”</p><p>He scrambled off of the bed, slinging his bag over his shoulder.</p><p>“Remember,” he said, pointing at Dream, “no dying.”</p><p>Dream smiled and gave him a thumbs-up. George pulled his goggles from his forehead to his eyes and sped off, slamming the door behind him.</p><p>Everything was quiet and cold. The fire had gone out, and although the sun still shone through the windowpanes, the air brought in from the world outside chilled Dream to his bones. He looked down at his hands and realized he was still holding George’s jacket. He panicked, wondering if he should bring it to him, but George was already gone.</p><p>He stood up and walked to the window, clutching the smooth black jacket. Staring out over the gently moving water outside, his mind wandered to George and what he might be up to. Did Schlatt have something big planned? What would George’s part be in any action that started? Just… keep him safe, Dream thought to himself. He glanced down and realized that he was holding the jacket up close to his face.</p><p>It smelled like George. Not in a bad way, just in a way that Dream had never noticed before. Weird, he thought. He folded up the jacket and tucked it into a pocket inside his own, determined to meet up with George later that day and give it back. He put his boots back on and headed out the door, gently closing it behind him.</p><p>-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------</p><p>“Well, well, well, look who showed up?” Quackity stood at the doorway, arms crossed. His suit looked pristine as it always did at meetings.</p><p>“If it isn’t Sleeping Beauty!” President Schlatt called from across the room. He wasn’t facing George, but George could see his fists clenched at his sides. This wasn’t good.</p><p>“Finally decided to show up outta the woodwork, huh?” Quackity asked, slapping George on the back. George recoiled and coughed.</p><p>“I’m sorry, I was… busy,” George flubbed.</p><p>Quackity snorted. “Sure.”</p><p>“ENOUGH.” Schlatt roared, turning around to face the group. He didn’t look angry, like George expected. He was grinning, fire in his eyes.</p><p>“We need to talk,” he declared, tossing a rolled-up map onto the long table they all stood near.</p><p>George stepped forward and gently unrolled the map. It showed the forest outside L’manburg, an uninhabited area typically filled with animals. George knew the place, not too well, but generally. He wasn’t sure what the point of the map was, but he didn’t want to ask.</p><p>“Schlatt?”</p><p>George turned to see Tubbo standing in the doorway behind him. The small boy looked like he’d ran a mile. He was gasping for air, his hair was a mess, and his clothes were dirty and ripped.</p><p>“Tubbo! Good timing, kid.” Schlatt smiled, seemingly genuine, at the boy.</p><p>Tubbo smiled nervously in return, and sat in one of the chairs at the table. Schlatt sat down also, so Quackity and George followed suit.</p><p>“Quackity?” Schlatt motioned.</p><p>“Of course.” Quackity winked at Schlatt, to no response. He cleared his throat and addressed the group.</p><p>“We’re considering several ideas for keeping the citizens happy. Obviously we need to take down any signs regarding the old country, and focus on Manburg. We have a couple ideas so far.”</p><p>Quackity pointed to a large paper on the wall, roughly tacked up by picture frames. The paper depicted what looked sort of like a football game plan - loose scribbles of lines and circles, complete with indiscernible handwriting. George blinked at the mess.</p><p>“Am I supposed to know what that says?”</p><p>Schlatt slammed back his chair and stood up, storming over to the board.</p><p>“Obviously, we need to make sure it seems like nothing is wrong while we sweep the disaster of the previous administration under the rug. So, Quackity here came up with the idea to-” he tapped the paper with a solid thunk - “hold a festival. A celebration. Of what we’ve accomplished and what we will accomplish in the future.”</p><p>George nodded, pretending to understand, but really he had no idea why they were doing this. He probably would understand more if he’d been at more meetings, he thought to himself. So he just kept quiet and let them ramble about the guest list and events they had planned.</p><p>“And Tubbo! Tubbo’s gonna give a speech for us, isn’t he?” Schlatt called across the room, motioning to the distracted boy who was looking through his chat box.</p><p>“Uh, yes, yes Schlatt!” Tubbo replied, returning his focus to the meeting.</p><p>“You can go now. Meet me back here later to discuss the building plans.” Schlatt waved him off.</p><p>“Yes, Schlatt.” Tubbo grabbed his bag and hurried out of the room.</p><p>“Now, George.” Schlatt turned his attention to him.</p><p>“Yes?” replied George.</p><p>“I trust you’ll be there on the festival day? You’ve been, well… slacking lately.” Schlatt said, pulling out his diamond sword and running a finger over the blade.</p><p>“Uh… yeah, yeah of course,” answered George, suddenly made uncomfortable with the presence of a stable weapon held by an unstable individual.</p><p>“Wonderful, wonderful.” Schlatt turned over the sword once more before sheathing it in his belt.</p><p>The light behind his head illuminated only his horns, so his face was nearly all in shadow. His expression obscured, but George knew it was the same sinister grin that he almost always wore.</p><p>Quackity impatiently tapped his foot a few times, and Schlatt nodded.</p><p>“You can go now.”</p><p>George nodded and grabbed his bag. He felt around for his jacket, only to realize he wasn’t wearing or carrying it. The memory of throwing the jacket at Dream hit him, and he realized that he must have never picked it up again.</p><p>“Shit,” he whispered to himself.</p><p>“Yeah, might wanna dress the part next time. Or else… who knows what will happen?” Quackity ominously called as George left the room to go find the holder of his jacket.</p>
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